NEW BRAUNFELS Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s Cyber Crimes Unit has obtained two 10-year prison sentences against a New Braunfels man who was caught with hundreds of photos and videos of children engaged in sexual conduct. Marcos G. Gomez, 56, pled guilty to 11 counts of possession of child pornography and 11 counts of promotion of child pornography. Gomez received a 10-year sentence on both offenses, which will run concurrently.

People who possess and send child pornography are robbing our children of their innocence and inflicting harm that these young ones will feel for the rest of their lives, Attorney General Abbott said. This man now has several years behind bars to consider the damage his actions have caused.

The Cyber Crimes Unit, in cooperation with the Comal County Sheriff’s Office, executed a search warrant at Gomez’s residence on Feb. 20, 2004. His confiscated computer contained more than 800 images and videos depicting children engaged in sexual conduct. The Cyber Crimes Unit case stemmed from an investigation of an online file-sharing network.

Gomez, who was employed in a manufacturing facility, was sentenced in the 22nd Judicial District Court in Comal County. Possession of child pornography is a third-degree felony, with a punishment range of two to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Promotion is a second-degree felony that carries a possible punishment of two to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

Cracking down on sexual predators is a top priority of Attorney General Abbott’s administration. His office has obtained convictions against 29 men on child pornography charges since Attorney General Abbott took office in December 2002. In addition, Abbott’s Cyber Crimes and Fugitive units have arrested more than 340 sexual predators during that time.

The Cyber Crimes Unit, which targets online predators, has made 67 arrests to date. The Fugitive Unit, which locates convicted child sex offenders who have violated the terms of their parole and could be stalking children, has arrested 239. In addition, the Fugitive Unit has arrested 36 unregistered sex offenders as part of Operation Missing Predator, a statewide initiative to locate and arrest convicted sex offenders who are not in compliance with sex offender registration requirements. For more information, visit the Attorney General’s Web site at www.texasattorneygeneral.gov or call (800) 252-8011.